Sorted (from TLW)...
@JimBoardman
Times reports #LFC's Damien Comolli has been tracking St Etienne's Def-Mid Blaise Matuidi, with Arsenal also interested.
Never seen him play. Interesting article on him from an Arsenal site, after they were linked with him in 09:
Who is Blaise Matuidi?
With Fiorentina leaking news of our bid for Brazilian Felipe Melo, it’s clear Arsene is in the market for a holding midfielder. After our difficulties in that area last season, that news comes as a real relief: I had begun to be concerned that the form of Alex Song towards the end of the season would convince Le Boss that he didn’t need to enter the market for a midfielder.
However, the pursuit of Melo was doomed to fail: it seems both the player and his club used us as a pawn to crystallise interest from Juventus, and a huge fee of €21m will soon see Melo in The Old Lady’s lascivious clutches.
As soon as that deal was dead, stories resurfaced about Saint-Etienne midfielder Blaise Matuidi. We had been linked with Matuidi for much of last summer, and as late as deadline day I fancied a deal to go through. As it happened, a deal didn’t materialise as we spent the final day of the window locked in talks to try and secure the signature of Xabi Alonso.
If the Matuidi and Saint-Etienne’s president are to be believed, Arsene’s interest in the player is long-standing. Perhaps we oughtn’t be surprised: in many ways Matuidi is the archetypal Wenger signing.
Blaise Matuidi in action for Saint-Etienne
Matuidi is just 22 years of age, and won’t turn 23 until long into next season. He is of African descent (his parents are Angolan), and has spent his formative years in France’s Ligue 1 (first with Troyes, and latterly Saint-Etienne). In typical Gunnerblogian fashion, I have spent the weekend trawling several French forums and the impression I have gained of Matuidi is that what he lacks in height (he is just 5? 9?) he makes up for in athleticism. His acceleration to loose balls is a noted strength, and his left-footed passing would provide a neat compliment to our existing options in central midfield.
Whilst Melo was certainly comparable to former Arsenal man Gilberto Silva, Matuidi appears to have far more in common with Lassana Diarra. Like Diarra before him, he is a France U-21 International and is soon expected to graduate to the senior set-up.
Recent reports in the English press have seen his price quoted at around £2.5m. I can tell you now that even though Matuidi has made his desire to leave very clear, those numbers are way wide of the mark. Most Saint-Etienne fans refuse to countenance a sale of the player L’Equipe voted their best last season for any less than €12m (about £10m). If Matuidi is to come to England, I’d venture that it won’t be for less than the £7m we paid Auxerre for Bacary Sagna.
